Incredible! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Princeton in Beijing is extremely rigorous. The workload is pretty heavy and it often causes a rather stressful atmosphere. The teachers are all very dedicated and truly care about your Chinese development, so they can sometimes be a bit strict. However, given the chance, they can help your Chinese grow and you as a person grow as well. A common day begins at 8 am with four hours of class. First a small quiz, then 2 hours of lecture then 2 hours of drilling (to make sure you remember what you learned. Even though we usually don't). After that you may have a break or you may have Chinese table. Which is when a randomly chosen professor takes you out to lunch. PIB's treat! After that, you'll have a one hour individual session. You can casually talk, go over grammar, or practice for an upcoming oral presentation. Once that is finished, the evening is yours. Well, the evening is yours to study, because there's 50 new words to study, about 21 grammar points and two or three pages of assigned reading. It is intense, but once you get used to it, you won't think about it so much. Once a week we also had Oral presentations. During the weekend you write an essay, then memorize it for your presentation. Not that bad. You only have to present in front of 4 or 5 people, so don't be worried! That takes points of from your pronunciation! At the end of every week we had an exam. It's about the size of your average midterm exam and it usually takes about 3 hours to complete. No worries though! Take your time and really think about each question and you'll be fine! Every 2 hours during class we change teachers. So you NEVER have the same teacher for all four hours. This allows you to hear several different accents and allows you to become comfortable when speaking to different kinds of people. You will also change classmates every week. However, every week you will only have 4 other classmates. This is to make sure everyone is learning at the same pace. No one is allowed to hide in the back or get away with not coming to class (unless you are too sick to function)! 2nd years use one book called New China, but the 3rd years go through two books in 8 weeks! Each book is difficult, but very effective! Lessons are pretty interesting and most of the time will get you talking! So don't be shy! My advice would be don't worry about not being perfect the first week. Remember to focus on your own personal development and not compare yourself to other people! Stay focused and do the best you can, but don't stress yourself until your laying on your back on a hospital bed. Frustration is normal. In fact, the first week I was so frustrated I didn't want to talk to a soul, but put your self out there a bit. Never give up trying, and eventually your gonna get it!

On-site administration of your program

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The housing was wonderful. They put us in the Study Abroad students dorm, which was basically the lap of luxury in Beijing. While Chinese student's dorms had about 6 people in one room, Xingsong Gongyu is a double room with it's own bathroom, tv, fridge, air conditioner, desks and night stands. There's a kitchen down stairs that has a sink, microwave and several hot plates (or whatever you call them) for your convenience. They also have washing machines and a dryer, which is a big deal in China. However, beware the dyer was broken the entire trip and did not dry any clothes at all. However, you can dry your clothes in your room by hanging them up by the window or in your wardrobe. The room basically looked like a hotel. The bathrooms were alright. If you are a neat freak, you might not be too happy because you might find it a bit dirty. Only a bit!! Nothing to keep you from living your life I assure you. I recommend bringing Lysol or other disinfectants if you are easily made uncomfortable.

Food was great! There are many restaurants within the area that are both delicious and affordable. If you just want some American food, (don't be ashamed. After a while you'll crave it) there's a McDonalds literally a five minutes walk away. There is also a KFC (which is delicious!), but it's a bit far. It's about 15 or 20 minute walk. Not terrible. My favorite places are the cafes. They are always the best places to eat and study. You can buy snacks and teas relatively inexpensively. (Sprite 10 RMB, popcorn 15 RMB, sandwhiches 20 RMB) You can also buy a pot of tea (my favorite is fruit tea) for about 40 RMB. It's very safe to eat because it is very clean. The owners are very hygienic. There is also a western style restaurant called Lakers (no affiliation what so ever with the basketball team), but I heard that only the pizza is worth trying. There are several Xiao Tan's or food stands set up outside of the East gate (which has the most restaurants) but be careful. Food stands are notorious for being the cause of people's illnesses. I got sick from eating too many Baozi's from the food stand and now I avoid it like the plague! If you have no reaction, you can go ahead and go for it (I envy you), but if you do, I suggest you don't eat it anymore. Ain't nobody got time for hospital visits!!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

As soon as we arrived, I felt like a Chinese student just living in Beijing like everybody else. Because your not allowed to speak English, you really feel integrated into the culture. Whether you Chinese is super boss or not, you will immediately feel like a Chinese student as soon as classes begin. The local life is also not that difficult to get used to. It's pretty urban, so those of you from big cities will acclimate just fine. Even if your not, you will find that you will quickly get used to being in Beijing, even though there are several things that throw you WAY out of your comfort zone. I learned to embrace these things, because I had to live with them for two months!

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Health is a BIG deal. If you feel like you are catching something TELL SOMEONE IMMEDIATELY. I cannot stress this enough. PIB had specific people set aside to handle these emergencies. They will carry you to the hospital, take you to go buy medicine and make sure you stay healthy on the trip. There were a couple of clinics available all hours. A popular one is called SOS. They speak English, take credit cards and have very clean facilities, however are very expensive. I rushed there because I was having an allergic reaction to something I ate before. My throat was closing up and I sores all over my body. I was a mess, but they were very friendly. They gave me couple shots and I was good as new! If you have seasonal allergies or any kind of allergy and take medicine like Zertech or Benydryl. I suggest you take them every night, so your not drowsy during the daytime.

I was very afraid before I went to Beijing that I'd get picked by a pick pocket or something, but that wasn't the case at all! It is very safe. There are always policemen patrolling and people guarding the entrance to Xinsong Gongyu (my dorm). There are instances where people have had they're phones picked from their pockets, but I've only heard of that happening at clubs, so....

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Living in China is SUPER cheap. 100 RMB (roughly 16 dollars) will last you several days! You can buy clothes, food, taxi rides, books and other necessities for ten times less in the states so take advantage of the opportunity and buy cheap stuff!

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

We had to sign a language pledge which made us speak Chinese everyday. Wonderful way to get you truly immersed into a language. I feel its the only way to immerse you!

Select all that apply

• Dorm

Select all that apply

• Americans
• International Students

Select all that apply

• Americans
• International Students

• Teachers
• Students
• Everything

• More field trips!

The Academic or Linguist